Knowledge-intensive Entrepreneurial Firms Research Articles

Exploring How the University Ecosystem Can Mobilise Resources for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurial Firms in Sweden

Social innovation and entrepreneurship are argued to be crucial for enabling inclusive and sustainable transformation. However, we know less about how universities can enable social innovation and entrepreneurship amongst students and employees. This article explores one specific channel for university impact - supporting knowledge-intensive entrepreneurs (KIE) in delivering social innovation as services. We conduct a theoretically informed case study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, analysing one firm started by alumni and one firm started by employed researchers. We propose a conceptual framework, explicating how social KIE entrepreneurs mobilise resources from the university in knowledge-intensive services of social impact.

Entrepreneurial orientation and knowledge management: comparing configurations of native and immigrant entrepreneurial firms

PurposeKnowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms succeed when they can better marshal their knowledge resources into productive advantages, necessitating entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and knowledge management (KM) processes of knowledge acquisition, application, conversion and protection. However, configurations of EO and KM processes are unaccounted for in extant theory, and the differences between the operating context of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms are unclear. Therefore, this study investigates the configurational combination of EO and KM processes in two different contexts as native and immigrant entrepreneurial firms.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the knowledge-based theory, the authors apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and necessity analysis of QCA (NCA) to data from Malaysian native (N = 185) and immigrant (N = 146) service-oriented entrepreneurial firms.FindingsThe results demonstrate that immigrant entrepreneurial firms’ performance relies on knowledge processes of knowledge acquisition and application to ensure intelligent effectuation of EO; but for native entrepreneurial firms, the critical knowledge processes for performance success are knowledge conversion and protection. The NCA suggests that EO is critical for both firms; however, conjunctional causations differ based on KM processes.Originality/valueThis study enriches the emerging knowledge-based theory of the entrepreneurial-oriented firm by advancing the theory and conversation by revealing how EO, KM processes and context link in which the profile of the EO–performance relationship is configurationally dependent. The study advances the knowledge-based theory of entrepreneurially-oriented firms to account for entrepreneurship in context.

Innovating in knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms: exploring the effects of a variety of internal and external knowledge sources on goods and service innovations

AbstractAlthough knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms experiencing high growth and generating innovations are widely acknowledged as important for economic growth, surprisingly little is known about how such firms achieve and maintain a high level of knowledge intensity through which to innovate. Our article further develops the concept of knowledge intensity by proposing that it is augmented by external and internal search activities carried out by the entrepreneurial firm and analyzes how these activities affect innovation performance. We use principal component analysis to derive formal and informal search channels from summated rating scales—measuring reliance on internal and external sources of knowledge—and then use fractional logit regression to explore how these channels relate to a firm’s innovative performance, i.e., the share of innovative goods and services sold. We find that searching via informal channels, and formal channels toward scientific and technological knowledge, improves innovation performance of both goods and services, while searching via formal channels toward market knowledge positively affects only innovative goods. Overall, informal channels matter more than formal channels. Lastly, we find substitution rather than complementarity effects between external and internal search channels in their effect on innovation performance in both goods and services. Thus, we interpret that building up knowledge intensity per se through search matters more for innovation performance than whether search is internally or externally focused. Our work contributes to the growing literature on knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship, to the related literature on new technology-based firms and young innovative firms, and to the general understanding of knowledge intensity at the firm level.

Performance drivers in knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms: a multidimensional perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer a comprehensive perspective on different facets of knowledge management and their effects on the performance of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial ventures.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical setting involves small and medium-sized enterprises located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Primary data for 223 knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) firms was obtained through questionnaires applied to ventures which applied to the innovative research in small business program, a small business innovation research-like initiative run by the São Paulo Research Foundation. Econometric results assessed the drivers of competitiveness in terms of firm growth, research and development intensification and technology transfer.FindingsResults highlight the complexity involved in establishing effective knowledge management processes in terms of driving KIE performance. Notwithstanding, some interesting insights on the moderation effects of strategic knowledge management (SKM) systems over technical skills could be identified with particular emphasis for the case of academic spin-offs. Ecosystem drivers present a good explanation power for technology transfer practices but fall short in providing answers for firm-level growth dynamics. It is also noteworthy that public and private investments in KIE firms are similarly associated with positive impacts – contrary to the view that private investors perform better than governmental sources in picking promising small ventures.Originality/valueThe assessment has provided novel evidence for a sample of KIE ventures concerning the appraisal of performance drivers associated with three dimensions of knowledge management, namely, technical knowledge, SKM and ecosystem features. Firms’ outcomes were addressed from a multidimensional perspective, thus providing a comprehensive perspective of the events under scrutiny.

Promoting Future Sustainable Transition by Overcoming the Openness Paradox in KIE Firms

A key issue for transition to a more sustainable future is how to promote collaboration for innovation amongst multiple diverse partners. However, collaborating for innovation requires that firms overcome the paradox of openness, i.e., they need to be open to collaboration to innovate and at the same time protect their internal knowledge and intellectual assets to appropriate value from their innovations. The aim of this paper is to investigate how knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial (KIE) firms can overcome this paradox—which is an important barrier to future transitions—by choosing a combination of collaborative partners and appropriability strategies that support their ability to create more radical innovations. We analyze a sample of over 2450 KIE firms, drawing from a cross-European survey. Our results indicate how different partners, and different appropriability strategies, are more, or less, relevant to the generation of the radical innovations needed to transform society into one with a sustainable future; university collaboration and the use of formal protection mechanisms seem especially important for such new-to-the-world innovations. Our study includes important policy implications for how to support and promote future sustainable transitions and also establishes a foundation for future lines of research regarding entrepreneurship and sustainable transition.

Advancing conceptualisation of university entrepreneurial ecosystems: The role of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms

University entrepreneurial ecosystems are increasingly important in facilitating innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities in today’s knowledge-based economies. However, we have an incomplete understanding of the demand side of university entrepreneurial ecosystems regarding the role of the entrepreneurial firm as the key user of university knowledge. We propose that use of university knowledge positively influences entrepreneurial firm performance and that the entrepreneurial firm’s resources and capabilities facilitate its ability to create value from university knowledge. We test our hypotheses on survey data of 3853 knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms from 10 European countries. Our study contributes to an increased understanding of the economic, societal and technological contributions of universities by empirically illustrating the role of firm resources and capabilities as moderators of value in university entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The evolution and embeddedness of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms in creative industries: contrasting experienced and non-experienced entrepreneurs in the Swedish fashion industry

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the micro-level processes whereby knowledge-intensive entrepreneurs become embedded in networks to access resources, and in doing so help transform a region. Our analysis contributes to theoretical debates about how the entrepreneurs achieve this aim in order to develop their knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial ventures in creative industries. Our conceptualization specifies how entrepreneurs can use embeddedness in networks in order to access specific types of resources, during the pre-entry phase, the establishment phase, and the post-entry phase. The textiles and fashion industry is an interesting setting to explore these topics because of the rapid industrial transformation from mass production of textiles to large e-commerce firms. Our results suggest that pre-history of the individual entrepreneur has long-term effects upon access to unique resources within the industry, enabling this group to more quickly build their entrepreneurial ventures. Our qualitative case study contributes to theoretical discussions of how micro-processes of KIE entrepreneurship can renew regions and traditional industries, because our analysis shows the enduring impact of past industrial, regional and family ties.

Under the AEGIS of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship: employment growth and gender of founders among European firms

An increasing number of theoretical and empirical analyses address the role of innovation as one of the main sources of firm growth. More recently, studies have looked at the role of gender diversity as a possible determinant of innovation and entrepreneurial performance. However, the relationship between gender and employment growth—a dimension of entrepreneurial performance—still remains unexplored to a large degree. This paper contributes to the empirical literature on gender and entrepreneurial performance in several ways. First, it examines the role played by both innovation and gender ownership as determinants of employment growth rates of young, knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial (KIE) firms. Second, it investigates the indirect impact of contributing factors—such as the characteristics of the market, knowledge-based capital, and human capital—on employment growth. And third, it relies on a rich new cross-sectional data set on young, KIE firms across European Union (EU) countries. The data set contains information not only on the gender of the firm’s founders but also on the market environment, business strategy, and innovative and economic performance of firms.

Why do Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurial Firms Publish their Innovative Ideas?

Based on a national survey of publicly funded research projects at entrepreneurial firms, nearly 50% of the funded projects lead to publications relating to underlying research, an effect more pron...

On the R&D/marketing interface in knowledge intensive entrepreneurial firms

In this paper we focus on the performance impact associated with whether R&D or marketing takes the lead in product innovations and/or product development. We examine empirically the performance of a sample of entrepreneurial firms across 10 European Union countries for which we can identify alternative regimes in which R&D, or in which marketing, is viewed as being relatively more important in creating and sustaining the firm’s competitive advantage. We find that when R&D is the dominant strategy, firms realize greater growth in sales, other factors held constant.

The issues of corporate governance in knowledge intensive entrepreneurial firms

This paper looks at the issues of corporate governance in knowledge-intensive firms. It provides a conceptual understanding of major challenges faced by governance bodies of such firms in early stages of their development. The major question it asks is about a sustainable model of governance in knowledge-intensive firms. Traditional governance mechanisms of corporate control are neither appropriate nor effective means of protecting the company's interest. They can hardly enable the transition of individuals' intellectual capacity into organisational learning capacity. In firms where human capital plays a major role in gaining the company's competitive advantage, the board of directors has a difficult task in finding sustainable ways of controlling and retaining the sources of knowledge generation.

Policies to promote new knowledge-intensive industrial agglomerations

This paper explores the role of policymakers in encouraging endogenous growth in regions. Policymakers in many regions have sought to create the local conditions and the knowledge base that will allow a dynamic and innovative cohort of new knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms to emerge. We review existing models of agglomeration to identify the critical antecedents and dynamic processes that lead to agglomeration formation. The policy interventions and instruments that impact on these antecedents and processes are then outlined. We describe the evolution of two new knowledge-based agglomerations, Dublin in Ireland and Tampere in Finland, emphasizing the role of policy interventions in the process of agglomeration formation. We show how policy interventions play an important role in stimulating the development of new agglomerations. However, because the process of agglomeration formation is dependent on local resources and processes, efforts to directly transpose a development model from an established district are likely to be ineffective.

How Do University Inventions Get Into Practice?

Jeannette Colyvas • Michael Crow • Annetine Gelijns • Roberto Mazzoleni Richard R. Nelson • Nathan Rosenberg • Bhaven N. Sampat Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Office of the Executive Vice Provost, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 INCHOIR, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 Department of Economics and Geography, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York 11594 School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 colyvas@leland.stanford.edu • mc71@columbia.edu • acp10@columbia.edu • ecorzm@mail1.hofstra.edu rrn2@columbia.edu • nate@leland.stanford.edu • bhaven.sampat@pubpolicy.gatech.edu